German Chocolate Pecan Pie in a Coconut Crust – A Gluten Free Recipe

In homeschool, the boys and I have been going through the beginning of settlement in the United States. Starting with the vikings, Columbus, the pioneers, and pilgrims, people throughout Europe were making their way to the new world in hopes of a better life.

In our discussion yesterday, my boys and I reflected on these people and talked about what the true meaning of Thanksgiving is. After reading Psalm 100, we all came to realize that the true meaning of Thanksgiving is about giving our praise to God and thanking him for every blessing and struggle that we may have.

Psalm 100: A Psalm of Thanksgiving

1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

It was great fun to hear what the boys were thankful for. Xavier was thankful for his friends at church, Nehemiah was thankful for his brother and sister, and Ezekiel was thankful for his mama – I like that. It was especially funny to hear what items they would have taken into the Mayflower. Each of them wanted to make sure to take their Nintendo DS as they would probably need something to keep themselves from getting bored. I love it.

When it was my turn, I explained to them that I’m most thankful this year for my immediate family. My mother, father, and two sisters – I can’t imagine my life without them. At every struggle they have always been there to help my family in love, support, and care. Goodness, it would take a book to share with you what they’ve done for me and mine over the years. From completely surprising Gabe and I with a brand new bedroom renovation for my 3 children, to financial support, shoulders to cry on, or the wisdom of my father as he always brings Gabe and I back to scriptures promises; I’m a blessed and thankful woman.

For these sweet blessings and time of thankfulness, I decided to make my family a German Chocolate Pecan Pie – two days before Thanksgiving because I figured we could be thankful on more than just one day a year. To make this pie filled with extra coconut goodness, I decided to make it in a coconut crust.

I then added another 1 1/3 of dried shredded coconut to the blended mixture and placed it all in a 10″ pie dish. I then loosely spread it apart to cover the pie dish in it’s entirety.

Once there was a good thick layer of coconut crust covering the pie dish, I pressed the coconut into place starting on the edges and working down. I didn’t press the very top down as I thought the rough edges would make it something lovely to look at.

Once the pie crust was in place, I cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the edges of the pie. Since I no longer like to use aluminum foil, I cut a large hole in the parchment paper so that the inside of the crust would show through but the edges were covered. I then par-baked it at 350F for 12 minutes.

Although covered, the edges still browned. I think I may try 10 minutes next time.

I then whipped up my pecan filling with added coconut and poured it over the top of the chocolate.

I then baked it at 375F for 25 minutes more. Again, I covered the edges of the pie because I knew they would brown further. It turned out beautifully rich and decadent; yet, not overly sweet – just perfect.

Place the coconut mixture in a 10" pie dish. Gently, spread the coconut mixture so that it covers the pie dish.

Starting at the top, by the crust, press the coconut crust down into the pie dish so that it holds together well.

Cover with a piece of parchment paper that's been cut with a large hole in the center to show the inner pie crust while covering the edge.

Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.

German Chocolate Pecan Pie Filling

Preheat oven to 375F

Once the crust has been par-baked, add the chopped up chocolate bar to the bottom of the pie crust.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the 2 eggs together; set aside.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the honey and coconut palm sugar, and then whisk it all together for 2-3 minutes; remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Once cooled, slowly whisk the mixture into the eggs in the bowl.

Mix in the coconut and pecans.

Pour the filling into the pie crust over the chocolate, and then bake at 375 for 22-25 minutes or until set.

Diana Bauman

Diana is a mother of three, proud wife, and humbled daughter of God. She finds the most joy meeting with Jesus in her organic gardens where she’s able to witness his hand of creation. She is completely blessed to be able to call herself a stay at home mom where she home educates her children, joyfully serves her husband, and cooks simple, economical food to nourish her family. As a Latina and first generation American, she is prideful of her heritage and enjoys spending some of her summers abroad in Spain visiting her family. She loves connecting with people on facebook, google+, pinterest, and instagram.

Hi Diana! This looks and sounds decadent! I discovered this recipe via Keeper of the Home, a site I love, and now I’ve found your lovely blog. It’s great to find a community of women with similar interests. Very excited to try this recipe, but I’ll have to modify since I am dairy and egg intolerant. Thanks for the inspiration!

This pie was better than I ever imagined. It was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing about it! I don’t normally say that about gf recipes. And I don’t normally leave comments, but this was so darn good! You don’t need a holiday to enjoy it Just go make it right now!

I'm Diana – mother of three, proud wife, and daughter to an amazing God. Here you'll find an encouraging community of like minded mothers, fathers, and everyone in between seeking to nourish our families with good, simple food. You'll find us in our gardens, foraging, canning, preserving and enjoying a simple life.